


Stars Align

by elfin (crazylittleelf)



Series: FringeTrek [12]
Category: Fringe, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Mash-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-05-29
Packaged: 2017-12-13 08:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/822072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazylittleelf/pseuds/elfin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A discovery or two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars Align

On the bridge of the USS _William Bell_ , Lincoln Lee smiled at the tiny, wrinkled face on the view screen and said, "It will be a pleasure to have you aboard, Dr. West. I know several of our scientists are very excited to be working with you."

Sang West smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her dark eyes deepening. Her steel-gray hair curled in wisps around her face, fluttering when she nodded. "Your ship's compliment of scientists is quite impressive, Commander Lee. I'm quite looking forward to my tenure there as well. I understand you're resupplying while you're at Starbase 7?"

"Yes, and we're receiving some minor technical refits as well. We're scheduled to be in port for three days. You're welcome to come aboard at any time, although there's certainly no hurry if you'd rather stay on the station until we depart. We have quarters prepared for you, and you'll have a workstation in the geophysics lab."

"Marvelous. I'll wrap up my affairs here and join your crew this afternoon, let's say 1300 hours. Until then."

"We look forward to receiving you, Dr. West. Commander Lee out."

The screen switched to a view of the forward visual array, showing the starbase ahead of them as they waited for clearance to dock. Lincoln picked up his PADD and looked over the crew rotation for their time at the station. Everyone who wanted leave received it, although Lincoln noticed that a number of the crew had elected to remain onboard, taking only short trips to the station if anything at all. He respected their dedication but made a note to talk to Dr. Stanton to see if the senior staff needed to reinforce the notion that breaks from duty were a good thing. With that in mind, he tapped through to check the captain's schedule, pleased to see that she had planned for at least a little time away from the ship.

Lincoln's own leave was scheduled to start at the end of alpha shift. With Lieutenant Anthonsen changing shifts in order to work with the survey team, beta shift was under Ann Mathis' command as she finished out her hours for her promotion to lieutenant commander. She was being relieved by other command candidates, like Astrid Farnsworth, who was just starting to get her command hours in. A docked ship might be a relatively boring place, but it was a useful learning tool.

"Commander."

Lincoln looked at Henry Higgins and asked, "They're ready for us?"

"Aye, sir, cleared for docking."

From the nav station Simon Phillips said, "Approach vector charted."

"Thank you, Ensign. Comm, alert all hands. Take us in at your leisure, Mr. Higgins."

"Aye aye, sir, ahead one quarter impulse for docking with Starbase 7."

*****

Olivia Dunham looked up from the novel she was reading at the chime of her communicator. She activated it and said, "Go ahead."

"Captain to Transporter Room One to receive Dr. West."

"On my way."

She carefully placed the antique book on her desk, not wanting to face Edward Markham's wrath if it was damaged while in her care. She made her way to the transporter room and found her beta shift commander - and the ship's geophysicist - waiting.

Birger Anthonsen was a slender man with blonde hair so pale it was nearly white.  From their time serving on the _Dauntless_ Olivia knew he was lithe and quick on his feet, having struggled to keep pace with him on several away missions as he bounded away over terrain that would slow a mountain goat.  She could remember him scrambling to the top of a ridge and turning back to call to the rest of the away team in his surprisingly booming voice, a grin lighting his usually somber face.

Olivia turned her attention to the transporter pad at the sound of a low whine and a sparkling in the air over the pad. Moments later Dr. West materialized, along with an impressive number of equipment crates. A single tiny purple suitcase sat at her feet.

Olivia smiled and said, "Dr. West, I'm Captain Olivia Dunham. Welcome to the USS _William Bell_."

Dr. West stepped off the transport pad and Olivia resisted the impulse to reach out a hand to help her down. Despite the woman's frail appearance, Olivia doubted she needed - or wanted - any assistance. The woman's gaze was sharp when she looked Olivia over.

"A pleasure to meet you, Captain Dunham. Truly."

"I believe you know Lieutenant Anthonsen. He'll be your liaison while you're onboard, but don't hesitate to contact me directly as well."

Birger stepped forward and said, "Dr. West, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise, Mr. Anthonsen. I'm delighted to be working with you and your team."

"May I show you to your quarters, or would you prefer to see your lab space first?"

"My lab, of course."

Olivia grinned at the woman and said, "We'll see that your equipment is delivered to the lab and your luggage to your quarters."

"Thank you, Captain." She took the arm that Birger offered and the two departed.

Olivia turned to her transporter chief and said, "Can you…"

Thomas Kashner said, "We'll take care of it, Captain," then blushed at the realization that he'd interrupted her. "Um, I mean, if you were going to ask about the crates, sir."

"It was. Thank you, Lieutenant. How have the transports over to the station gone so far?"

"Fine, Captain. No problems so far. I mean, not that I expect problems. It's just, there haven't been any. Sir."

"Lieutenant."

Kashner fidgeted behind the transporter console. "Sir?"

"Relax."

"Yes, sir," he said, but didn't appreciably do so.

"I'll be back around 1500 for my own transport to the station."

"Commander Bishop will be handling that?"

"He usually does. I'm not sure I have any say in the matter."

"Um, sir, if I can speak freely, why don't you just tell him to stop?"

She smiled at Kashner and he fidgeted. "You have to pick your battles, Lieutenant."

*****

The Starbase had a completely different feel than the familiar pressure of the crew of the _Bell_ in Nick Lane's mind. It was more hectic, more chaotic, a swirl of emotion that played at the edges of his awareness.

Sally squeezed his hand and brought his attention back to his immediate surroundings.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, noisy here."

She nodded. "Simon didn't even request leave. He said there were too many people here."

"I just get used to being on the ship. Everything feels so familiar there. Takes a while to remember how to ignore a bunch of people I don't know. You hungry?"

"Getting there."

"There's an Ariolon restaurant here that's supposed to be amazing. You wanna check it out?"

"Yeah, Peter was telling me about that one, too." Sally grinned at Nick and said, "That sounds great. I've got a few more things I want to pick up while were here. Do you want to go ahead and get a table? He said that the wait can be pretty long."

"Sure, sure, send me off to do the grunt work."

"Yeah, sitting in a ritzy restaurant sipping wine is awful. Poor Nicky, life's so hard."

Nick laughed and kissed her. "Okay. I'll see you there in a bit."

Sally nodded. "Won't be long."

*****

"Ella," Rachel called, "Don't get too far ahead of us."

"Mo-om, I won't."

"Sassy," Olivia said.

"Yeah, I wonder who she's learning that from," Rachel said, glancing sidelong at her sister.

"I have _no_ idea what you're trying to imply."

"Right."

Olivia laughed and bumped her shoulder into Rachel's.

Ella ran back and grabbed Rachel's hand. "Mom, _look_ at this." She pulled her mother over to one of the kiosks and pointed at a small clear habitat with a tiny gold moth in it. The moth moved its wings and light reflected off of them, scattering rainbows around the little shop.

"Hmm. We're going to have to enact the same rules for you that we have for Dr. Fayette, aren't we?"

Ella looked up, grinning. "What rules?"

"No unidentified animals on the ship."

"Awwwww."

*****

Sally leaned against the wall and resisted the urge to check her chronometer again. She kept her feelings carefully neutral, counting on distance and aversion to keep Nick from detecting her nervousness. For once she was grateful that the two of them weren't linked they way he and Olivia were, that he didn't automatically read every emotion that she felt.

Her eyes flicked up as a red-haired man walked toward her. He stopped and leaned against the opposite wall and said, "Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Ensign Clark."

Sally crossed her arms over her chest and watched him.

"Ensign," he repeated, and smile turned mocking. "It's still "ensign" isn't it, despite your service? How does that feel, knowing that she's always going to outrank you? But then, that's how it's always been, isn't it? That's how it's _meant_ to be."

Sally said nothing.

The man held up a microtape. "We recognize your potential. Your ability."

She stared at the tape and asked, "What's to stop me from going straight to Francis and turning this over to Security?"

"Nothing. However, we're confident that you'll make the right decision." 

Sally reached out and took the tape.

The man nodded cordially. "We look forward to working with you."

*****

_Captain's Log Stardate 2374.8:_

_We've completed the scheduled upgrades to the computers systems and have left Starbase 7 for System 627. The three day journey will give us time to prepare for the survey and work out any unexpected bugs in the upgraded computer systems._

*****

Lincoln scrubbed his hand over his face and checked the time on his comm, wincing at how late it was.

Early, really. Alpha shift started in three hours and trying to sleep was pointless. He'd drift off just as his alarm sounded. Lincoln rolled his shoulders and stood, stretching muscles stiff from being hunched over reports for hours. He'd been tracking other incidents like what happened to the _Hartford_ , hints at a larger picture that was terrifying. There was nothing concrete, nothing that couldn't be written off as unrelated, but the cold feeling of dread in Lincoln's stomach drove him to keep looking.

That, and a particular ship's name cropping up over and over in the information that Lincoln had cobbled together. 

Lincoln reached across his desk for a microtape. He misjudged the distance and the stack clattered to the floor of his cabin, startling him. He sat perfectly still, heart pounding wildly, aware that his response was completely out of line for the stimulus. His hands were shaking when he bent to pick up the tapes.

He stacked them carefully on his desk and looked warily around the room, disquieted for reasons he couldn't put his finger on. He turned sharply and left, blinking in the overly bright lights of the corridor outside his quarters. He hurried down the hall, rounding a corner and doubling back along a parallel corridor.

He touched the announcement pad outside the door, then felt ridiculous. The sleep-rough voice that came through the speaker asked, "What'sit?"

"It's Lincoln."

There was silence, then the door slid open revealing a squinting, shirtless Chief Engineer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lincoln shook his head, lost for words.

Peter pulled Lincoln inside his quarters. "Seriously, you had to wait until it's almost time to get up?"

"Sorry to inconvenience you," Lincoln said tartly, his mind finally starting to calm.

Peter rolled his eyes, but his voice was soft when he asked, "Nightmare, or did you not even get to sleep?"

"Wasn't asleep," Lincoln muttered, not resisting when Peter started stripping his uniform off.

"The ship has a counselor for a reason."

"Nick's busy."

"No, he isn't. And even if he was, it's his job to keep you command-types from falling apart."

Lincoln opened his mouth to protest but Peter kissed him, tongue flicking against his lips before he pulled back and said, "Shut up."

Peter herded him toward the bed, and Lincoln crawled under the blankets. Peter draped an arm over Lincoln's chest and slung one leg over his. "Sleep. A couple hours are better than nothing."

Lincoln stared at the ceiling of Peter's quarters, listening to the slowing cadence of the other man's breathing.

"Peter?"

Peter groaned and mumbled, "Dammit."

"The thing is, I think there's something going on. Something big."

"You've been looking at the reports from the _Hartford_ again, haven't you?"

"I think Olivia knows about it."

Peter pushed himself up on one elbow and looked down at Lincoln, fully awake now.

"The _Hartford_ wasn't the only unexplained disaster. I've been looking for things like it, stuff that doesn't make sense. And I found a lot.

"And I found something else that looks like it isn't related, but it has to be. After every event, the _Dauntless_ shows up. Like the shuttle crash at the outpost on Denivin 4, the _Dauntless_ was near the system a few weeks later.

"But the thing is, the _Dauntless_ wasn't there. The _Dauntless_ wasn't _anywhere_ officially. It just drops off the sensors and pops back up months later near where one of these accidents happened. I think it's investigating, and if it is, Captain Scott would have told Olivia. I know they… I know they have a history together and they met when we were on Starbase 10 and Olivia keeps looking at me like she's sorry about something and she isn't saying anything."

Peter sighed. "If she's not saying anything, it's because she can't."

Lincoln nodded and curled toward Peter, tucking his face into his neck. He was suddenly exhausted, as if the act of putting his fears into words took the last of his energy. "I know."

Peter relaxed again, resting his head against Lincoln's. He stared into the darkness of his quarters long after Lincoln had fallen asleep.

*****

Olivia looked up from the Engineering reports at the chime of her ready room door and said, "Come in."

"Good morning, Captain." Lincoln was juggling an armful of microtapes and his PADD along with a mug of tea.

"Morning, Commander. What have we got?"

He sat opposite her and paged through his PADD. "The updates we received on Starbase 7 to the computer systems are all working well. Ensign Okonkwo has already modified a few of the new subsystems to increase performance. All departments that were in line for supplies report that they received what they requested. Lieutenant Anthonsen is ready to begin the preliminary work for the survey. He's got a kickoff meeting scheduled, which you'll be attending?"

"Yes, after we're done here."

Lincoln nodded. "And a new set of guidelines from Starfleet." He handed her the microtape with its official Starfleet seal imprinted on the case.

"'The Starfleet Handbook on Personal Relationships'," Olivia read. "'A guide to maintaining safe and diplomatic interspecies liaisons.'" She looked up at Lincoln. "This is all Kirk's fault, isn't it?"

"Seems a reasonable assumption."

She laughed and tossed it onto her desk. "Noted." 

"How are the schedules looking for the survey?"

"Good, everything's covered as far as the people switching shifts to work with the main survey team. Some of the catalogers and mineralogists have switched to gamma shift so they don't have to fight for lab space." He tapped a finger on the edge of his PADD. "You know we're going to lose Mathis when she finishes her command course at the Academy."

"I'm hoping we're going to gain an NCO, actually. Ann hasn't give any indication that she wants to leave, and her fiancé's at a private security firm on Earth. He's got a good background in logistics, so I'm sure we can find something for him if he's interested."

"I'll make sure Ann knows that."

"Thanks." Olivia's comm chimed and she said, "Anything else?"

Lincoln said, "I'm, uh, taking some time this afternoon to talk with Dr. Lane."

Olivia nodded and said, "Anything I need to know about?"

He was quiet for a moment, then said, "Just not sleeping. Less than usual, I mean."

"If there's anything I can do…?"

"Yeah. I'll let you know." He cleared his throat and said, "You'd better get going. I get the feeling you don't want to keep Dr. West waiting.

*****

"Good morning, everyone," Olivia said, looking around the Ready Room. "I know you're all eager to get started on your preliminary work for the survey, so I'll turn things over to Dr. West, who will be overseeing this mission."

"Thank you, Captain. I've drawn up a proposal for the survey, which has been transferred to your PADDs. I've made suggestions for the utilization of your subordinates, but I assure you that you know your people better than I do, so feel free to deviate from those suggestions if you think it necessary.

"While our primary goal is to ascertain the viability of terraforming the fourth planet, we're also to scrutinize the other planets. This system has had only cursory examination prior to this, so we'll be performing a full catalog, both biological and geological. We still have some time before we're in range. Captain, how long?"

"We'll arrive at the system in nineteen hours and will be in long-range sensor range in sixteen. Let Comm know if you want to be alerted as soon as we're in range."

There were nods and murmurs of affirmation around the table.

Olivia smiled and stood. "I'll leave you to it, then"

*****

Peter rubbed one finger over his forehead and tried to resist the urge to yell at his warp core specialist. Lincoln's insomnia had infected him, leaving Peter awake until his alarm sounded and Lincoln rushed off to his own quarters. Between the lack of sleep and the vague worry that Lincoln was right, Peter was left trying to will away the headache that lurked behind his eyes

The headache wasn't helped by Lieutenant Falcon and his ridiculous demands.

"We turn in reports for a reason, so that _you_ can pass this information along to the captain," Falcon said, raising his voice enough to draw curious looks from around Engineering. Peter stabbed his fingers at the impulse engine relay console, glaring at it instead of the lieutenant standing beside him.

"The captain doesn't care if you don't like the way we've rearranged offices here," Peter said. "She cares if the warp core is about to breach or if all the plasma relays are about to blow, but not that your new office is three microns smaller than your old one."

"The point is that you moved everyone's offices without telling anyone."

"The point is, you're the only one who has issues with this. Everyone else sees that the new arrangement makes more sense."

"You haven't _asked_ anyone." Falcon threw his hands in the air and looked theatrically outraged. "How would you know? We haven't even had a department meeting since the change. No one's had a chance to voice their concerns."

"Everyone's had a chance. They know where to find me."

"That's not how change is supposed to be managed. Same with the computer systems. Do you even know what Okonkwo has done to the warp relay controllers? He's not even part of our department. Why is he making changes to our computing systems?"

"Akim's changes boosted the efficiency of _your_ engines by three percent," Peter said. "I know that much."

"I'm going to run full diagnostics on _everything_ when we're out of warp in System 627," Falcon declared.

Peter waved a hand. "You do that."

*****

Lincoln hesitated outside the door to Nick's office, grateful that it was set back into a little alcove so that he wasn't blocking traffic in the corridor outside Sickbay. Now that he was there, he felt ridiculous. And tired. He thought about canceling and just going back to his quarters and going to bed.

Nick opened the door and said, "Nope."

Lincoln sighed. "It's really annoying when you do that."

Nick grinned. "Oh, I know." He motioned Lincoln inside and said, "Come on. Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks." Lincoln sank down in one of the chairs, ignoring the lounge that was in the room.

Nick sat across from him, crossing his feet under him and resting his elbows on his knees. "You said you've been having trouble sleeping?"

"Yes, but it's nothing."

"Lincoln."

Lincoln slumped back into the chair and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I just… I can't stop thinking about the _Hartford_."

"You were doing better with that for a while. What changed?"

Lincoln was quiet, twisting his fingers around each other. Nick waited, watching him."

"I know these sessions are confidential, but I know you report concerns to the captain, too."

"Is there something she should be concerned about?"

"I don't know. I think she already knows, but I'm not sure because I can't find anything."

"Start at the beginning, Lincoln."

"I think she knows something about what happened to the _Hartford_."

Nick's calm expression frayed apart for just a moment, and Lincoln swallowed hard at the worry he saw in its place. Then Nick blinked and the worry was gone, making Lincoln wonder if he'd imagined it.

"What makes you think that?"

Lincoln shook his head, reluctant to say to Nick what he'd explained to Peter. "It's nothing. I mean, really, it's just half-formed theories and nothing to back them up. I guess I'm just tired of waiting for answers and I'm looking for anything at all that I can grab hold of."

"Lincoln, these things that you think Olivia knows, these questions that you have - do you question her ability to command this ship?"

"Wha…? _No_. No, that's not what I think. I trust her."

"Then _trust_ her." 

Lincoln nodded slowly, worried expression still on his face.

*****

The scientists gathered to review the initial planetary data that had been returned by the long-range sensors leaned forward in anticipation, eyes locked on the _Bell_ 's stellar cartographer.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Edward Markham said grandly, "I present System 627, a lovely five-planet system located in the scenic Alpha Quadrant."

The simulation zoomed in, swooping in toward the sun then turning to show the innermost planet.

"627-A is a Rodinium-based planetoid, lacking atmosphere and magnetic fields. Not a place I'd recommend for your summer home, although extremely profitable for mining operations.

"627-B is a little nicer, having at least a marginal atmosphere. 627-C, while not the subject of our scrutiny, is a fascinating little devil." He looked up over the edge of the glasses that were perched on the end of his nose. "I think you'll like it, Dr. West."

West smiled broadly. "Do tell, young man."

Olivia smothered a smile behind her hand.

"The volcanic activity on the C planet is immense. The tectonic activity alone doesn't seem to be enough to account for it. I'll, of course, leave detailed examination to you.

"Next out is our target, 672-D. Stable atmosphere, reliable magnetic fields, ring system that will be spectacular when viewed from the surface. Initial scans are promising as far as its potential for terraforming goes. Past that is a large asteroid field, and finally we have 627-E, a gas giant, doing typical gas giant things. Any questions?"

Gladys di Tommaso, the ship's geologist, raised her hand and asked, "When can we beam down?"

Lieutenant Anthonsen grinned and said, "Soon enough. We'll start in depth examinations when we arrive at the system tomorrow. We've launched probes that will be returning data within the hour. Once we have detailed atmospheric information about the planets, we'll organize away teams to visit the surfaces. Assignments are on your PADDs. Let's get to work."

*****

_Captain's Log Stardate 2379.1:_

_Our survey of System 627 continues. We've collected biological and geological samples from all planets and have several probes in the system recording data. Barring any surprises, Lieutenant Anthonsen informs me that we'll be ready to beam the first team down to 627-D in a matter of days._

*****

Dr. West tilted her head back and watched a wireframe image of planet 627-D's volcanic activity. "The convection currents of the plates are fascinating."

Birger nodded and said, "The subducting slabs are so thin! I don't see how the massive rifts we're seeing have been caused by the tectonics that are evident."

"Yes, it's like some external force has twisted the planet, like a cloth that's been wrung out. There aren't any apparent external stressors that could have caused it, though."

Ensign Gladys di Tommaso tuned the other two scientists out and returned to her examination of the information from the most recent probes. Among the new data were surface images from 627-D, showing exposed outcroppings of rock that towered for miles over the flat plains below. 

The grooves were horizontal, streaking across the surface of the rock, wavering in thickness and depth. Occasionally, a line hatched across, connecting two or more bands. They were too regular - and oriented at the wrong angle - to be glacial striations. They were layered over different layers of strata as well. Gladys ran her fingers over the display, tracing the lines. She shook her head and looked over to where Anthonsen and West were still rhapsodizing about tectonic plates.

She cleared her throat and said, "Lieutenant, can you come look at this?"

"What have you found?"

"These, sir." She pointed out the lines. "This isn't natural. Something made these marks."

"Like… something scratching on the rocks?"

"Yes, but they're not random scratches. They're deliberate. Something _made_ these marks."

"Huh. What?"

"I don't know."

Anthonsen nodded. "Good find, Ensign. We should get Tavar. He'll want to see this."

*****

"Remarkable." Lieutenant Tavar's face was impassive but his eyes were bright with interest. "How many of these such marks have you found?"

"Three locations with several grouping of marks in each location, sir. The marking are far more complex than I first thought. Some of them are nearly microscopic, but they all share the same characteristics. There's a lot of variance between the locations, but this," di Tommaso touched the screen, "repeats in all three. It's the only thing that does. It's also the most complicated-looking grouping. At least it seem the most complicated to me. It's the most deeply incised in the rock."

"The marks are physically cut into the rock?"

"I thought so at first, but there's a crystalline structure in the incisions that indicate that they were formed in conditions of extremely high heat." Tavar turned to look at her and she said, "The marks were burned into the rocks."

"There has been no evidence on the planet of life forms capable of making such markings?"

"No, sir. Once I saw the marking I expanded to scans to look for non-carbon based life, but none of the standard comparison models have found anything."

"If you were to extrapolate along non-standard models based on the composition of the minerals on the planet, what would you expect to find?"

"Sir?"

"I believe of anyone on this ship that you have the most experience with non-carbon life, do you not?"

"Um, well, yes? I've been studying the Horta since they were discovered, and I did my Academy research on sulfur-based organisms on Vontian 8."

Tavar nodded and di Tommaso turned back to the readouts. "Given the composition of the planet's elements and atmosphere, boron is the closest analog to carbon. It's um, been theorized that boron can form complex enough molecules to encode biological information. We could recalibrate the sensors based on that assumption."

Anthonsen nodded. "Set it up. Until we know more I'm suspending all invasive investigations on 627-D. Keep me apprised of what you find."

*****

Olivia looked at an image of a field of rocks and touched her fingers to three that were smoother than the others. They were slick and shiny, a light gray that seemed to shimmer in the light. "There?"

"Yes, Captain," Ensign di Tommaso said. "The surface you're seeing is like a shell, almost like a beetle on Earth, although they don't have wings like Earth-beetles do. You can see the legs of that one there, just at the edge of the image. They're boron-based life forms, which isn't a compound that's normally included in sensor readings for determining life."

"Like the Horta?" Dunham asked.

"Similar in composition," di Tommaso said, "but we have no evidence that these creatures share any physiological traits with the Horta. In fact, based on our visual observations, they're quite different."

She shook her head. "The planet's so desolate. How did they develop there?"

"Life is tenacious, Captain," Tavar said.

Olivia shook her head and said, "Amazing. And they're what made the marks on the rocks?"

Di Tommaso nodded. "Yes, Captain. The structures of their legs are really interesting. They appear to be composed of a material similar to ulexite, which is a boron-based mineral compound found on Earth. The crystal structure acts as a fiber optic network, allowing the transmission of light though the ends of the legs."

"They generate _light_?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, they appear to use it for communication," di Tommaso said. "It's also how they burned the marks into the rocks."

"Now that we know how to identify them," Tavar said, "we've found that the life forms are quite widespread. They live in what we believe to be family groups, although there are several areas of the planet that seem to be congregating points, where many such groups live together. These are the places where we've found evidence of the beginnings of an organized culture."

Gladys tapped the computer console and images of a rock face appeared. The surface of the stone was blue-gray and covered with scratches in geometric patterns. "These are the markings that I found."

"While much of the marking we've found seem to be purely aesthetic, we see this over and over." Tavar touched a section of the marks that were painstakingly carved circles instead of hatched lines. Tiny triangles radiated from one side of each circle. "It is clearly representational."

"Of what?"

"We are not sure. We believe the context frames it as a destroyer, something to be feared."

"A predator?"

"It's possible, although we feel that the context of the drawing is both past and future. This seems to be something they expect to happen again."

"Predictive."

"Yes, although we're not sure on what basis. Much of the communication at this point is optical. We have very little understanding of the amount of knowledge the life forms have as far at that goes. With further study, we'll be able to better understand the relationship of the marks to their optical communication and how it relates to a written language."

Olivia's comm whistled and she said, "Go ahead."

"Captain, I believe I've found something you'll want to see," Markham said over the comm.

Olivia nodded absently, still looking at the circles in the carvings and said, "I'm on my way."

*****

Olivia paused inside the door to Stellar Cartography and let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

"Markham?"

"We've got a problem, Captain."

She followed the sound of his voice, skirting around stacks of old books to join him at the central console. He tapped a command and system 627 spread out around them, the five planets dancing around their sun. Olivia tracked the graceful motion of the planets. Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned toward the far reaches of the system, a tiny shape that hovered at the edge of the room.

"Yes, that."

"An asteroid?"

"If only. Y class. Highly toxic atmosphere, incredibly dense for its small size which creates incredible gravitational forces. Ridiculously eccentric orbit."

"A demon planet."

Markham nodded. "Due to swing back into the inner solar system in sixty years. It visits approximately every 300 years, although due to its eccentricity the timeframe and path of egress are highly variable. This time it will slip though harmlessly and fling its way back out into the darkness."

"This time?"

"On its last visit it brushed by 627-C, poisoning the atmosphere and causing massive geothermal instability. It nearly tore the planet in half." 

The little ball swooped inward, gaining speed as it approached the sun. As it neared, it gained a tail, like a comet. It careened past her and looped around the sun, sling-shoting itself back into the darkness.

"It's taken me a while to calculate it, but its next visit will have an extremely high likelihood of it colliding with 627-D. And even if it does miss this next time, it'll hit its mark eventually. When it does, there won't be anything left of 627-D, let alone the terraformers or colonists. It shouldn't be too hard to alter its trajectory to direct it into a more stable orbit."

Olivia stared at the planet-killer as its speed slowed as it reached the apogee of its orbit, shedding the last of its tail. She felt cold at the realization of what the etchings were, what they implied of the beings' knowledge of their own solar system.

"Captain? You okay?"

"Thank you, Dr. Markham. If you'd please prepare your report. I'll convene a meeting of the survey team."

"I don't understand. What's wrong? It's an easily correctable orbital problem."

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "It really isn't."  
*****

Olivia looked around her ready room and noted the change in expressions from the last time her crew had met there. The excitement and eagerness of the lieutenants from her science departments had been replaced by worry and weariness. Even Dr. West looked grim.

She nodded to Markham and said, "I'm sure you've all read your briefing, so we'll jump right in. Dr. Markham has found a sixth planet in System 627. Ensign di Tommaso has found a previously unknown species of life on the fourth planet of the system. The orbit of 627-F will eventually bring it into a collision with 627-D. We have strong evidence that the life forms are knowledgeable of this threat and anticipate its arrival. The Prime Directive prohibits involvement in the abatement of natural disasters if the culture is aware of the disaster."

There was silence around the room.

"We're not going to help them?" Markham demanded.

Olivia held up her hand. "I'm not saying that."

Anthonsen looked relieved and almost smiled, "Then we are going to help them."

"I'm not saying that either. We're here to discuss this so I have enough information to make a decision."

"It's not much of a decision," Markham said. "If we don't do anything that planet and everything on it will be destroyed."

"Captain, if we interfere, it will be a violation of the Prime Directive," Tavar said.

"They have conjecture based on tradition," Anthonsen said. "They don't have absolute proof that it will come back. Hell, _we're_ not even sure exactly when it will strike the planet."

"But we are sure that it will," Tavar said, "As are the life forms on the planet. Their lack of specificity does not diminish their awareness."

"So if they were _less_ aware of their environment we'd help them? This tiny bit of knowledge is enough to kill them? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Markham said.

Tavar raised an eyebrow. "Be that as it may, the facts of the matter remain. We are not in a position to debate the ethics of the Prime Directive. It is our duty to follow it."

"Yes, but it's _wrong_ ," Green said. "We have to consider the ethics of this."

"And what of the ethics of violating the most vital of our directives?" Tavar asked.

"They'd never even know we interfered," Markham said. "We could move the demon planet into a stable orbit and leave."

"And the culture would still develop expecting its destruction at any moment," Tavar said. "Removing the danger would affect their culture."

"We don't know how long it's going to be before the planets collide," Fayette said. "We can recommend that the planet be placed under observation and maybe they'll be able to ask for help by the time it's imminent."

"And maybe they won't," Markham snapped.

"All right," Olivia said. "We're going to table this for the evening. We'll reconvene in the morning."

*****

The variable set for the movement of an entire solar system was enormous. Markham accounted for everything, every object no matter how small. He cast his net wider and wider, adding external factors like deep space objects, transient asteroids, anything he could think of that could change the outcome of his projections.

He ran the simulations over and over, watching the tiny demon tear into 627-D again and again, sometimes sooner, sometime later. Inevitably, though, it struck the surface, annihilating the world and everything on it.

The door chimed and admitted Kate Green. She said, "Doesn't anyone on this ship sleep?"

Markham ended the simulation and the room went dark for a moment, then the pale blue ambient lights came on. "Hard to let this one go."

"I heard." She nodded and crossed the room to sit on a chair at the central console. "Nothing that tips the balance in their favor?"

Markham sighed and said, "Not that I can find."

Kate looked at the scrolling data on the console's surface. She watched it a long time before she lifted her eyes to meet Markham's.

"I'm going to suggest something."

"I'm listening," Markham said.

*****

The bowling alley was deserted, or at least it appeared so. A muted, impressive string of profanity from the back indicated otherwise. Olivia walked along the side of the closest lane to an old-fashioned wooden door.

There was a sign affixed to the door that read, "No Admittance. Authorized Personal Only." Under that had been written, "That means you, Bishop." Olivia turned the worn handle and entered the cluttered hallway that led to the machinery of the pinsetters and ball returns.

Olivia looked down the access corridor behind the lanes and called, "Sam?"

There was a thump and more cursing, mostly words that the translator elected to ignore. After a moment the _Bell's_ Recreation Chief crawled out of one of the machines.

"You'd think these machines were designed for Sulamids instead of humans."

Olivia peered into the tiny, convoluted space. "I can see how the tentacles might be helpful."

Sam sat on the floor, panting just a little. He opened a red box and pulled out a metal cylinder, then offered another to Olivia. "Beer?" He rolled the cylinder across the floor without waiting for her to answer.

Olivia turned the can around in her hands and laughed. "Where do you find this stuff?"

"I did some tinkering with the synthesizers. I hear you found something unexpected on the planet."

She nodded and opened the beer. She took a long drink before saying, "And we're going to have to let it be destroyed." She leaned her head back against the wall.

A clear voice called from the front of the bowling alley, "Is this establishment open?"

"I'll let you take care of that," Sam said. "Glitchy pinsetters wait for no one."

In the public side of the bowling alley, Dr. West was gazing around, delighted. "I've never seen such a place outside of old holomovies. How on Earth did it get here?"

Olivia laughed. "In many small pieces, mostly behind my back."

Dr. West looked up at the multicolor neon sign and said, "Marvelous."

"Were you looking for the mess hall or one of the lounges? I can show you where they are."

"No, Captain, I was looking for you. Your handsome young counselor suggested that I might find you here."

Olivia's thoughts reached out to Nick's and she sighed at his wakefulness, sorry that her own insomnia and worry had kept him from sleeping. "I come here to think."

West nodded and the cheerful expression turned solemn.  "Yes, I imagine you've a lot to think about tonight.  And why I'm here, of course, if you'll indulge an old woman intruding where she's no business being."

Olivia gestured to one of the tables behind the lanes and said, "You're not intruding. Please, have a seat. May I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you, Captain."

Olivia sat across from West. "What can I do for you?"

"This is an unusual situation, wouldn't you say?"

"That's one way of putting it." Olivia tilted her head. "You've been involved in dozens of surveys. Have you ever been in a situation like this?"

"Outside of theoretical situations? No. This smacks of something from an ethics exercise - I'm not sure a better Prime Directive conflict has ever been put forth in any Academy classroom. Lucky you, that it's fallen in your lap."

"Lucky," Olivia said very softly. She watched condensation running down the side of the metal can.

"You don't believe in luck?" West went on without waiting for an answer. "Good. Neither do I. The request for this survey was submitted eighteen months ago. Even the worst bureaucratic worst red tape can't slow down a routine survey this much. It was held in limbo, waiting for the right time."

Olivia shook her head. "I don't understand."

"You have an extraordinary crew, Captain Dunham. And a remarkable talent, and I do not mean the abilities foisted upon you by the Cortexiphan experiment. You are a leader, a born one, and that was yours well before Walter Bishop got his hands on you."

Olivia looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes, wondering at the extent to Dr. West's knowledge. She opened her mouth to question the older woman, but Sang held up a hand to stop her.

"You've fought hard for what you have. There are people who would not hesitate to try and take that from you." 

"How do you know that?"

"I'm an old woman, Captain. I am frail and harmless and people do not take note of me when they should." She smiled broadly. "It's my own talent, you might say." Her expression went serious again. "Tread carefully."

"I didn't join Starfleet to stand by and let entire species be destroyed."

"You think the Prime Directive is irrelevant? Something that does not apply to you?"

Olivia opened her mouth again then snapped it closed. Softly she said, "No. I don't think that."

"Then _think_ about what you are doing here, what you stand to lose."

"There are easier ways to discredit me," Olivia said.

"But very few that are more high-profile."

"Do you have any proof of any of this?"

West smiled sadly. "Nothing concrete."

Olivia nodded. "I appreciate your advice. I'll take it under consideration when I make my decision."

Dr. West sighed and said, "You're as noble as your reputation makes you out to be. Good night, Captain."

"Good night, Dr. West." Olivia watched the woman leave, then opened her communicator and said, "Computer, locate Commander Lee."

"Commander Lee is in the officer's mess."

He wasn't alone, although he was sitting as far away as possible from the few beta shift officers who were lingering over their meals. Their idle chatter ceased when Olivia entered and she nodded to them as they left.

Lincoln's back was turned to the room, facing the band of view screens along one wall that were masquerading as windows. The view of the planet was lovely. Olivia sat next to him, elbows braced on her knees, head resting in her hands.

"We could always just refer it to Starfleet Command," Lincoln said. "Let them make the decision since there's not any immediate danger."

Olivia shook her head but didn't look up. "That would be as good as deciding to let the demon planet hit them. You know which way Command will come down on this. I'm not going to shirk my duties just because they're unpleasant."

Lincoln nodded, looking out the viewport miserably. "We can't help them."

"No. We can't." Olivia scrubbed at her face and stood. She rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Try to get some sleep. I'll announce the decision in the morning."

*****

Olivia looked around her Ready Room at the grim faces of her science team. They'd been joined by other members of her command crew, filling the room with anxious officers. She took a breath and said, "I know I indicated that there would be further discussion of the matter of the life forms on 627-D but I believe such discussion is unnecessary at this point. Any action on our part to interfere with the eventual collision of the two planets would constitute a violation of the Prime Directive. We'll return immediately to Starbase 7 and report our findings. Questions?"

The room was silent until Markham cleared his throat.

"Captain, I believe we need to revisit the orbital trajectory of 627-F and the possibility that it will be ejected from its solar system and become a rogue planet."

Olivia blinked. There was a murmuring around the room that quickly died back into silence. Olivia said, "Your initial findings didn't indicate this outcome."

"My calculations were erroneous, much as it pains me to admit it."

"Erroneous."

Markham fidgeted with his PADD and glanced at Dr. Green. "Yes. Dr. Green assisted me last night in running a corrected simulation based on the more accurate data."

Olivia looked one from scientist to the other and said, "Go on."

Markham tapped at his PADD and a graphic of the solar system came up on the view screen. It zoomed in on the sixth planet and followed its path through the solar system. This time, it passed through the debris field and wobbled alarmingly. As it exited the field and neared 627-E, the gas giant's gravity slung the smaller planet on a different course. At the apoapsis of its orbit, it shot away from the system.

"As you can see, with the corrected coalescing mass of the debris field, 627-F's orbital characteristics change dramatically. When this occurs, the demon planet will be ejected from the solar system, becoming a free-floating interstellar object - a rogue planet. Given the density and composition of its atmosphere, the extreme temperatures of interstellar space will not freeze it off. It will retain the toxins that it has now and carry them with it."

Olivia tilted her head. "This is a good thing, right?"

"This is a bad thing. The most likely ejection trajectory puts 627-F on a course to collide with Alpha Majoris. This is a densely inhabited system. Were the planet to enter the system unimpeded, the loss of life would be staggering."

"What's the probability of 627-F being ejected?"

"One hundred percent," Markham stated. "Eventually."

Olivia watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"The variables in the asteroid field are difficult to predict. We're sure that this will happen, but we can't at present predict when it will happen. However, it _will_ happen. Allowing this rogue planet to pose a risk to the inhabitants of an entire solar system is a violation of the Prime Directive."

"The system isn't presently in any danger," Tavar said.

"Yes, but we're… being proactive," Markham said.

Olivia looked around the table. Dr. West met her eyes steadily but said nothing. Olivia pressed her hands together in front of her face, chin resting on her thumbs. She watched the simulation that showed that tiny planet peeling away from its own system and streaking toward Alpha Majoris.

"If… _If_ we were going to intervene, what course of action could we take?"

Her crew looked around the table, and Anthonsen said, "The gravimetrics of the planet would make it dangerous to bring the ship in close proximity to it. Whatever we do would have to be from a safe distance."

"Just blow it up," Peter said.

"The core of the planet is exceedingly dense," Fayette said. "We don't possess the capability. Requesting that sort of munitions will trigger a review of the request, which, um, we probably want to avoid."

"We could alter its orbit. Stabilize it," Markham said.

"We're not talking about an asteroid here," Fayette said. "We can't haul it around with the tractor beam."

"That's not the only way to go about altering a planet's orbit," Green said.

"How else can we do it?" Olivia asked.

"We don't have the munitions to destroy the planet, but a photon torpedo detonation at the edge of the planet's atmosphere will deflect the orbit slightly," Markham said. "Normally the planet would correct for such a small deviation, but if a second explosion happened before it corrected, the path would be changed even further. A third explosion changes it further, and so on, until the orbit has been stabilized."

"How many explosions will it take to stabilize the orbit?" Lee asked.

"Ah. Twenty seven, Commander, over the course of three weeks."

Olivia's eyebrows shot up.

"As we've noted, the planet's core is particularly dense," Markham said. "However, once the orbit is stabilized, there's no reason to believe that it won't stay so."

Lincoln shook his head. "Deploying twenty seven torpedoes would trigger a review, too."

"Too late to do anything about it, though," Peter said. "It's not like they're going to put the planet back into an eccentric orbit to spite us."

 

"Objections?" Olivia avoided looking directly at Dr. West when she posed the question.

"Note that this course of action is a direct order, although any crew member who objects to this action may excuse themselves without repercussion."

"Captain…" Dr. Green started.

"Prepare the coordinates for the placement of the torpedoes and the timing system. Notify me when we're ready to proceed."

*****

_Captain's Log Stardate 2384.6:_

_We've remained in System 627 for the past three weeks, monitoring change in trajectory of planet 627-F. The trajectory of the planet continues to correct along into stable orbit. Dr. Markham has declared the operation a success. We'll recommend that the system be placed under observation, both for the corrected orbit for 627-F and also the developing life forms on 627-D._

*****

The chime on the door to her Ready Room sounded and Olivia said, "Come in."

Lincoln stood in the doorway and said, "You should be sleeping."

Olivia gestured to the PADDs and microtapes that were scattered over the surface of her desk. "Reports."

Lincoln nodded and sat in the chair across from her. He leaned on the desk and rested his chin in one hand. He stared at the tapes for a while and said, "Why don't I feel good about this?"

She tossed the PADD to the desk and leaned back in her chair. "Because you and I both know that we bent the rules too far on this one." Lincoln watched her. He looked tired. The dark circles under his eyes matched her own and been darkening over the last three weeks. The operation had been a success, stabilizing the orbit of 627-F, but Olivia shared Lincoln's unease.

"Lincoln, I think we were set up. I think _I_ was set up. Dr. West tried to warn me."

His brow wrinkled as he frowned. "Set up… how?"

"I think someone knew about what was on 627-D, knew what we'd find and sent us here anyway. I think they were counting on the ethics of the situation driving me to break the Prime Directive."

"You think it was Harris?"

"He's certainly been the most vocal in his criticisms. This is exactly the sort of thing he's going to jump all over as proof that I can't be trusted. That none of us can be trusted."

"You know there are far more blatant violations."

"I know. And I know I have more support than I think I do. Of course, there's also the issue that I'm certain two of my crew manufactured data to provide me with the outcome that I wanted."

Lincoln looked worried. "You don't think they're working with Harris?"

"Markham and Green? Absolutely not. But I'm afraid they played into the plan just the same." Olivia sighed. "I suppose it doesn't matter. It's done now, and we just have to wait and see how Starfleet responds."


End file.
